The present invention relates generally to hand-held hair care appliances, such as electric hair clippers and trimmers, and more particularly, to battery-powered hand-held hair clippers. Specifically, the present battery-powered hair clipper assembly relates to improvements in the mobility, clipper run-time and range of movement of the user during operation of the hair clipper.
Hand-held hair clippers are well known in the beauty salon, barber shop and animal grooming industries. Although conventional hand-held hair clippers have advantages, they also have several limitations. First, if the hair clipper is electrically powered by line voltage, the stylist is limited in his/her movement because the cord for the clipper is connected to a wall outlet. Therefore, the stylist can only move so far as the cord can extend. In addition to being limited in range of movement, in some cases the cord interferes with the user's movements. For instance, the cord can be caught on the stylist's chair or the client's body.
Furthermore, present electrically-powered hair clippers powered by line voltage do not allow the stylist to easily multi-task. For instance, if a stylist is trimming a client's hair with the hair clipper and needs to switch to styling shears, needs to attend to hair care needs of another customer, or has to answer the telephone, the hair clipper needs to be put down and placed within the range of its cord. This reduces the stylist's efficiency. Finally, if a power outage were to occur during operation of the electrically-powered clipper, it would no longer operate.
To address these problems, battery-powered hair clippers were developed. Battery-powered hair clippers generally contain an in-unit battery. Although this seemed to solve the mobility and power outage problems encountered with line cord-powered hair clippers, the addition of an in-unit battery increases the weight and size of the hair clipper. To minimize the additional size and weight of the clipper, the in-unit battery of these hair clippers is generally small. As a result, the battery must be recharged quite frequently, reducing both the run-time of the hair clipper, and the stylist's efficiency.
Also, present battery-powered hair clippers do not allow the stylist to move freely around the salon and relatively easily multi-task. For instance, present battery-powered hair clippers do not allow the stylist to switch from using the hair clipper to styling shears, a blow-dryer or another hair care utensil without first taking the time out to place the hair clipper aside or store it uncomfortably in a pocket, where the clipper could fall out and become damaged.
Therefore, there is a need for a battery-powered hand-held hair clipper that is lightweight, compact and has an increased run time. There is also a need for a battery-powered hair clipper that allows a stylist to readily move from one task to another with ease and efficiency. Finally, there exists a need for a battery-powered hand-held hair clipper that can be carried by the user without hampering mobility or comfort.